A Poetry Response to the War in Ukraine

From Volyn to Kherson is a powerful poetic response to the first nine weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Drawing directly from news reports and frontline accounts, this collection captures the raw emotion, shock, and devastation felt across Ukraine.

Each poem reflects the stark impact of war on ordinary people — their fear, resilience, and loss — as seen through the lens of reportage and lived experience.

Look Inside

seventeen miles
of convoy
stretches out
on the road
to kyiv

the air raid sirens
fill the streets

foreboding

they come
relentlessly
they come

despite
they are

so many
and they come . . .

Why Write About War in Ukraine?

The build-up to the February 2022 invasion was widely anticipated, drawing journalists, photographers, and citizen witnesses to Ukraine.
What followed was an unfiltered, uncurated flood of words and images — real, raw, and relentless.

Moved by these reports, the author responded in free verse — seeking to translate empathy into poems
that tell and retell the stories of those affected, in ways that readers around the world can feel and understand.

What would a line of tanks and armoured vehicles, 70 kilometres long, feel like if it were aimed at your own home?

This collection focuses on just the first nine weeks of war — a fraction of the unfolding tragedy. For a poet, even that was almost too much to endure.
Imagine what it means to live it every day.